Sterilizer.



R. L. SPAULDING STBRILIZER. APPLICATION FILED `JUNE 13,11911l Patented June 4, 1912.A

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no Y LEE. sPAi'ILDiNe, or' HELENA, MONTANA.

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Specification of- Letters Patent.

Application led I uiie 13, 1811.

Serial No. 632,876. i

To all 'whom t may c0fncem- 4 Beit known'that I, ROY LEE SPALDING, a citizen of the .United States' offAinerica, and resident of` Helena, in the county oil Lewis and Clarke and State of Montana,

- have invented certain new'and useful Im,-

.provements in Sterilizers, of which the f ollowing is a specification.

This inventionrelates to sterilizing .apparatus and particularly to a sterilizer designedto operate through the luse of steam4 or vapor adapted to circulate in a receptacle' containing instruments, such as dental or surgical instruments which-are to be sterilized.

A further object of this invention is to provide in a sterilizer, a receptacle for con taining the vapor or steam andthe instru'- ments to be sterilized and a well having novel means for controlling the admission of liquid thereto in. smallquantities'in order that rapid vaporization of the liquid may take place, the rapidity o f lvaporization being controlled by the heater here shown in theform of alamp externally of the casing',

thereby enabling. an operator to vaporize the liquid rapidly if desired or `by reducing the ame, the vaporization 'can be made more slowly. v

A still further object of this invention is to' provide areservoir for. the liquid lin proximity to the sterilizin chamberA and .provide means of communication between the said reservoir and the well ofthe sterilizing chamber so thatfall of the apparatus exceptv the heater is `a unitary` structure. -Itis often desirable to disinfect a surgical or dental instrument very quickly@ which may be done ,b y zing water, .an

dippingy theA same into boilit is therefore desirable to have a well of boiling water in the'most4 convenient location. It is also desirable to provide the boiling well of such depth that the instrument maybe dipped suliiciei'itly'deep without itsedge or point contacting with the bottom of the, lwell and becomin thereby. With these latter objects 1n view I provide such a well adjacent to. the 'periphery ofthe bottom of the sterilizing chamber,l

so thatthe same'may be easily accessible without interfering with4 the sterilizing shelves or the instruments thereon; while, at

ing a two-fold function.

the saine time,"the boiling well is perform- With" the foregoing and other. objects' in view, the invention consists in the details of 'dulled' construction, and in the arrangement and combinationv of partsto be hereinafter more lfully set forth -and'claimed .In describing. the invention in detail, ref-` -erence will be had to the accompanying drawings forming part of this speciication wherein like charactersdenote `correspond- Patented J une 4,1912.

ing parts lin the 'several views, and inV whi'chf- 4 Figure 1 illustrates a view in elevation of the sterilizing apparatus; Fig. 2v illustrates a vertical sectional view thereof ;A andFig. 3 1

'illustrates a top planiview with thecover of the sterilizing chamber removed:

In these drawings A denotes the steriliz the latter extends through the bottom of the reservoir ardis under the pipe a in the well'.

The u rpose of thetwo' pipes is to control they ow of liquid from the reservoir to the' well, .the operation being such that the liquid .in the reservoir iows through the pipe b .so

long as the pipe a is unsealed by the said 1 .liquid, vvbut upon sealing of'the said pipe a, `air is prevented from gaining access to the reservoir and the flow is interrupted. The

flow remains interrupted so long as the liquid seals the end of the4 pipe within the well but when the liquid in the well falls below the level of the pipe, air and steam enter the reservoir andthe flow of liquid is resumed temporarily. lIn similar appara' tus; wherein the air and steam pipe (such as the pipe b of this invention) passes upward through the outer air, instead ofV through the water, the heat, from the steam,

in passingthrough the pipe, is Vabsorbed by the outside air and is wasted; while the same heat, in this invention, is absorbed by the water in the reservoir B and is thereby conserved; .resulting in a saving of fuel.

The merger of the pipes a and ZJ withinv the lwell is vshown by the openings g and If the pipes a and b entered the well on the samelevel, they would be sealed alike by the water in the well; and, when thewater boiled vigorously, these' pipes would each become sealed and unsealed 1n irregular succession. At times, therefore, steam would enter theI reservoir through the pipe b, and. 'on passing upward through the body of water ,wou-ldlbecome condensed and there` fore tend to causea partial vacuum above gree. By placing thejpipes a and b. inthe ywith a supporting leg d.

relative positions shown, these undesirable features are eliminated and an even flow and temperature of water is assured. The sterilizing chamber has a cover-D which is removable and the reservoir B may be' provided with appropriate means for supplylng liquid thereto, the said reservoir B being provided with a gage glass c from which the level of the liquid within the reservoir'may be determined. Thesterilizing chamber is provided. with supporting legs d and d". and the reservoir is provided The sterilizing chamber and reservoir are connected by brackets f and f so that the chamber and reservoir arerigidly connected, not only by the brackets but by the pipes a and b.

The heating agent ishere shown ascomprising a wick stove e which'may .be in the nature of an alcohol burner although the .means for heating the liquid within the well is an immaterial detail.

The vaporization chamber contains-a stand y' having shelves of `planes c, k,.whic`h supgenerate the lsteam requisite vfor sterilizing and to cover fthe opening g in the air' lpipe a port theinstr-uments to be sterilized. V

Itis obviousthat the reservoir B must be provided with anair tight coverv so that' the liquid can be supplied thereto from -time to time but'the .particular-'form of cover is an immaterial l'det-ail of construction inthis connection. j

By reason of said opening g being under water, no air can'pass'through said` opening g inV pipe a into the water supply tank B, consequently the water. being heated in the water fwell G is kept at a depth suiiicient to until such -time as the uantity of waterin said water well is su ciently reduced by evaporation to brin the level ofthe water' being heated therei .below the opening g in said air pipe o, whereupon, by reason. of

the admission' of vair throughsaid opening g, in such air pipe a andfso into the water supply tank B, suiiicient water is displaced in said water vsupply tank,` flows down through water pipe b and again' submerges and "eX- cludes air from saidvopening g in' said air pipe @whereupon the flow of waterinto the 'wat-er Well ceases until evaporation again occurs, as above described.` v

By this invention not only is a constant supply of water automatically furnished to the water wellor cup. C but sterilization is accomplished by the use of va very small ,quantity of water and the' consequent 'advantage of necessity fdr very'little heat toi generate the steam therefor.`

I have found in practice'that 'the reservoir B can be filled through the sterilizing chamber. A by supplying water to. said chamber and tilting the apparatus so that water can pass through the tube or pipe leading from the sterilizing chamber to thereservoir but fora large apparatus which cannot becon lveniently. tilted, I may provide anair tight plug L in .the reservoir and supply the pipe b'wlth a cock m to be closed to prevent water from gaining access'to the cup or wellv while the reservoir is being filled.

I claiml p In a sterilizer, a sterilizing chamber hav.-` ing its bottom provided with a` depending portion forming a well, said well being ad-- jacent to the periphery'of said bottom, a reservoir in proximity -to the sterilizing chamber, 'a pipev communicating with the well and with the reservoir, av pipe communieating with the wellen a plane -above the first mentioned pipe, said` second mentioned pipe ,extending through. the bottom ofthe reservoir and terminating near the to thereof, a cover for the sterilizing cham er, linstrument supportsiinthe sterilizing chamber, said supports being adjacent" to an opposite portion ofthe said bottom and odset -from the l. edge of lthewell, whereby easy accessQto said well is 4provided' when the cover.l is removed, meansj'for heating the liquid in the well, and agage glass for the, reservoir. r In testimony whereof, I aiiix my signature inthe presence of two witnesses. v ROY LEE SPAULDINGr.v 'Witnessesz C. A. SPA'ULDING, MILDRED BARNES;

(lcpiea of this patentimay be obtained for' vecelits each, by addressing the commissioner fof leatents', l

1 Washington, D. C. 

